BY SAM ALFAN.
Nakuru West Member of Parliament Samuel Otara Arama and lawyer Kennedy Begi Onkoba to remain in custody pending ruling on bail tomorrow.
Prosecutor Joseph Riungu had opposed their bail application on the basis that there was likely breach of peace and that the charges were serious.
However, defence lawyer Migos Ogamba dismissed the allegations as speculative and said Arama and Onkoba were willing to abide with the court orders.
It has now become abundantly clear that the DPP does not think accused persons have any rights because charges has been preferred against them , they should remain in custody” lawyer Ogamba told the court.
The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) lead investigator, Agosta Mecca, explained that the duo was brought to Nairobi after rowdy youth claiming to be Arama’s supporters, had stormed Railways police station in Nakuru over the weekend demanding their release. The youth had confronted police officers and were dispersed with teargas, he said.
The two have been charged with conspiracy to defraud a businessman of his land in Nakuru town by having the property secretly transferred to the politician by a fake seller for Sh60million.
Arama and Onkoba who appeared before Nairobi Anti-Corruption Chief Magistrate Douglas Ogoti, denied the charges and were remanded overnight at the Kileleshwa police station pending ruling on their bail application.
Arama and Onkoba were jointly charged with conspiracy to defraud Ahmed Muhammad Nisar of his plot in Nakuru municipality by pretending they were capable of effecting the transfer of the property to the politician.
The offence, in which the duo purported to insert entries in the Nakuru Lands Office white card register records, is alleged to have been committed between August 3 and 11, 2015.
Arama faced a second count of unlawfully drawing a land sale agreement in respect of the contested plot-Nakuru Municipality Block 6/95-pretending it had been signed by Yusuf Mustaphah Ratemo.
The third count alleged that the politician presented the land sale agreement to Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) investigators Agosta Mecca and Vera Nyambok, with the intention to deceive them that Ratemo was the genuine seller of the property. This offence was allegedly committed at the EACC offices at Shiv Plaza in Nakuru Town on February 9, 2016.
Arama faced a fourth count of unlawfully securing a certificate of lease and registration of transfer of the property by falsely claiming to have purchased the land from Ratemo on August 3, 2015.
He is alleged to have presented suspect documents to the offices of the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development in Nakuru Town on August 7, 2015.
The fifth count alleged that Arama fraudulently secured the registration of certificate of ownership of the property between August 7 and 11, 2015 at the Lands offices in Nakuru town.
Arama was accused of misleading the EACC Investigators, Mecca and Nyambok, who were investigating the alleged illegal acquisition of the land, by recording a statement claiming he had legitimately purchased the property for Sh60million from Ratemo.
The Magistrate to decide whether to detain or release the accused on bail tomorrow at 2:30 PM.
